Discussion: What if a hotel, or hotels, started doing this. advertising it, earnestly. Putting a splash page, or a bit of information, or a blog post that says, “Hey… guys… book with us”.
What would the result or ramification be?
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Hey. Guys. Howdy. I thought I would put it simply, so people who don’t yet know, would know.
Please never, ever, ever, ever, ever book on sites like Expedia, Hotwire, Travelocity, Priceline.com.
After your research, book *direct* (call, online booking engine, whatever) with the hotel you choose.
If you book direct, your rate will *ALWAYS* be the lowest rate (99% of the time, at least all the hotels you *want* to stay at, and aren’t horribly managed, just phoning it in).
Not only that, you will get better service. When you buy from an online travel agent (like above), your contract is with them, and the hotel’s contract is with them – so the entire concept of hospitality is interrupted, and a hotel has absolutely no capacity to resolve issues. Some hotels may even end up using Expedia guests like pawns as they make room for their Kings and Queens. Not at ours, but it happens.
OTA’s were a stopgap solution when the non-tech hotel industry was being left behind during the early days of online distribution. Now, distribution has changed, and continues to change in rapid and meaningful ways. OTA’s aren’t as necessary anymore.
Also – Hotels are smarter, and now have ways of better serving guest needs, and reaching you in the most of convenient, and transparent of ways. Part of that involves the guest, and their awareness to book direct with the hotel, on the website booking engine, or make a old fashioned phone call.Whatever you do, if you make sure your reservation is a contract directly with the hotel, and not a 3rd party, every single one of your travel experiences will be better.
Thanks for listening.
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